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Roberts traffic stop turns up almost 2 pounds of pot

Authorities say a routine traffic stop led to the discovery of nearly 2 pounds of pot in St. Croix County.

The incident occurred at about 6 p.m. Dec. 17 while a Roberts police officer was patrolling the area of Highway 12 and Briarwood Boulevard when, according to a criminal complaint, he spotted a suspected speeder.

The officer spoke with the driver, identified as 21-year-old Brian C. Schmitt, and the passenger, Hannah Y. Griffis, 21, and asked why it smelled like fresh marijuana inside the car. According to the complaint, Griffis said she'd tossed a joint out the window, which prompted the officer to say that wouldn't account for the "potent" odor he detected.

Griffis, the car's owner, later gave officers permission to search the trunk for pot in a paper bag. Officers found "a large quantity" of suspected pot in there, the complaint states, along with more in a diaper box and a cookie jar — along with suspected paraphernalia.

Griffis, of River Falls, and Schmitt, were arrested. After first telling police she was holding the pot for a friend to sell, the complaint states she later admitted it was hers and that she planned to sell it.

The total weight of suspected pot was 1.78 pounds, according to the complaint.

Griffis was charged in St. Croix County Circuit Court with one count of felony marijuana possession with intent to deliver and one count of drug paraphernalia possession, a misdemeanor.

Schmitt, arrested on suspicion of THC possession with intent to deliver and knowingly violating a domestic abuse order, was not charged in court as of Dec. 28.

Mike Longaecker is the regional public safety reporter for RiverTown Multimedia. His coverage area spans St. Croix and Pierce counties. Longaecker served from 2011-2015 as editor of the Woodbury Bulletin. A University of Wisconsin-River Falls graduate, Longaecker previously reported for the Red Wing Republican Eagle and for the Forum Communications Minnesota Capitol Bureau. You can follow him on Twitter at @Longaecker